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Are the USA Becoming a “Proxy” in the War between Sunnis (Turkey, Saudi Arabia) and Shias (Iran, Iraq, Syria) Colonialisms Imperialisms Slaves Trade in addition to the Cold War Against China and Russia fighting Communism Slavery – 10/14/2014

Are the USA Becoming a “Proxy” in the War between Sunnis (Turkey, Saudi Arabia) and Shias (Iran, Iraq, Syria) Colonialisms Imperialisms Slaves Trade in addition to the Cold War Against China and Russia fighting Communism Slavery ???

“Colonialism was always portrayed in the colonizing country (in public) as bringing benefits for the colony. They included: increased standard of living, benefits of Christianity, improved health and education, establishing law and order, etc. ”

“A colony is a part of an empire and so colonialism is closely related to imperialism. Assumptions are that colonialism and imperialism are interchangeable, however Robert J. C. Youngsuggests that imperialism is the concept while colonialism is the practice. Colonialism is based on an imperial outlook, thereby creating a consequential relationship. Through an empire, colonialism is established and capitalism is expanded, on the other hand a capitalist economy naturally enforces an empire.”

“The impacts of colonization are immense and pervasive. Various effects, both immediate and protracted, include the spread of virulent diseases, unequal social relations, exploitation, enslavement, medical advances, the creation of new institutions, abolitionism, improved infrastructure, and technological progress. Colonial practices also spur the spread of colonist languages, literature and cultural institutions, while endangering or obliterating those of native peoples. The native cultures of the colonized peoples can also have a powerful influence on the imperial country.”

“African slavery had existed long before Europeans discovered it as an exploitable means of creating an inexpensive labour force for the colonies. Europeans brought transportation technology to the practise, bringing large numbers of African slaves to the Americas by sail. Spain and Portugal had brought African slaves to work at African colonies such as Cape Verdeand the Azores, and then Latin America, by the 16th century. The British, French and Dutch joined in the slave trade in subsequent centuries. Ultimately, around 11 million Africans were taken to the Caribbean and North and South America as slaves by European colonizers.“

“Slavery in Africa has not only existed throughout the continent for many centuries, but continues in the current day. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of the continent, as they were in much of the ancient world. In most African societies where slavery was prevalent, the enslaved people were not treated as chattel slaves and were given certain rights in a system similar to indentured servitudeelsewhere in the world.”

“From approximately 650 until around the 1960s, the Arab slave trade continued in one form or another. Historical accounts and references to slave-owning nobility in Arabia, Yemen and elsewhere are frequent into the early 1920s. In 1953, slaves companied sheikhs from Qatar attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and they did so again on another visit five years later.”

“As recently as the 1950s, Saudi Arabia‘s slave population was estimated at 450,000 — approximately 20% of the population. During the Second Sudanese Civil War people were taken into slavery; estimates of abductions range from 14,000 to 200,000. Slavery in Mauritania was legally abolished by laws passed in 1905, 1961, and 1981.It was finally criminalized in August 2007. It is estimated that up to 600,000 Mauritanians, or 20% of Mauritania‘s population, are currently in conditions which some consider to be “slavery”, namely, many of them used as bonded labour due to poverty.”

“The Arab slave trade in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea long predated the arrival of any significant number of Europeans on the African continent.”

“The conquests of the Arab armies and the expansion of the Islamic state that followed have always resulted in the capture of war prisoners who were subsequently set free or turned into slaves or Raqeeq (رقيق) and servants rather than taken as prisoners as was the Islamic tradition in wars. Once taken as slaves, they had to be dealt with in accordance with the Islamic law which was the law of the Islamic state, especially during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. According to that law, slaves were allowed to earn their living if they opted for that, otherwise it is the owner’s (master) duty to provide for that. They also could not be forced to earn money for their masters unless with an agreement between the slave and the master. This concept is called مخارجة (mukhārajah) (Lane: “And خَارَجَهُ He made an agreement with him, namely, his slave that he (the latter) should pay him a certain impost at the expiration of every month; the slave being left at liberty to work: in which case the slave is termed عَبْدٌ مُخَارِجٌ”) in Islamic law. If slaves agree to that and they would like the money they earn to be counted toward their emancipation, then this has to be written in the form of a contract between the slave and the master. This is called مكاتبة (mukataba) in Islamic jurisprudence. Muslims believe that slave owners are strongly encouraged to perform mukataba with their slaves as directed by the Quran.”

“A proxy war is a war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved.Proxy wars have also been fought alongside full-scale conflicts. It is almost impossible to have a pure proxy war, as the groups fighting for a certain nation usually have their own interests, which can diverge from those of their patron.”